u/PleiadesMechworks

With the development of the blackout system that completely eliminated any kind of emissions from the mech - including heat - a different way of managing heat buildup was necessary, and the solution the mechworks' engineers came up with was a true heat sink. While most heat sinks are advanced radiators that eject heat from the 'mech, the SR1 system instead concentrates the heat into a reservoir of insulated thermal mass that, once it has reached its thermal capacity, can be ejected from the unit to remove the heat.
It has also found employment on designs specialised for void combat, as heat sinks do not work well in vacuum. In this version, the sink is often stripped of its insulation on release to provide a massive heat signature that can confuse targeting systems. It also found limited use as an emergency cooling measure as it doesn't use the corrosive or explosive chemicals found in coolant flush pods or radical heat sinks, although the expense is greater due to the consumable materials involved so it often faced opposition not from mechwarriors but the accountants that are the true backbone of any mercenary company.

The SR-1 weighs 1 ton, occupies 2 critical slots, and must be mounted in the torso. Any of the 10 sinks that come with the engine can be replaced by the SR-1 system without any additional weight, but if doing so they must be placed outside the engine.
The SR-1 acts as a single heat sink under normal conditions, but can alternatively be jettisoned at the start of the heat phase. The heat sinking capacity of the 'mech is permanently reduced by 1 until the sink is reloaded [handled the same as ammunition reloads] but doing so immediately reduces the current heat level of the mech by 4.
Any attack to the rear armour of the mech automatically destroys one sink in that location if it has not already been jettisoned, even if the armour is not breached. Critical hits to an SR-1 disable the system, but no further damage is incurred.

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Designer's note: this is based on my alternative take on the Null Signature System that instead of building up additional heat (that is then dissipated by the double sinks on the unit so doesn't really matter) doesn't allow the system to vent any heat, which I prefer as it makes autocannons way more viable for stealth designs.
While the ability to vent 4 points of heat is powerful to help avoid catastrophic overheating, it only being a single sink otherwise and being a one-shot effect helps balance it against doubles in the long term. Also, I decided to just go with a straight heat reduction to simplify tracking but as originally designed it was a separate heat scale that goes up to 4 and doesn't affect the mech, allowing you to allocate heat points to the SR1's reservoir and jettison it once it reaches capacity.

The Autocannon/12 is perhaps the most famous creation of the Mechworks. Weighing slightly more than an autocannon/10 but occupying the same space overall, it traded a small amount of range for a small amount of damage that proved crucial in allowing a lucky shot to take an enemy 'mech's cockpit clean off. While the invention was unfortunately unable to make it across the 'sphere during the clan invasion, the ability to kill an Elemental with a single shot meant that it acquired something of a notoriety among clanbuster mercs even if the ammunition cost of the uncommon calibre was equivalent to an autocannon/20.
While it would later be somewhat superseded by the Autocannon/15, it nevertheless provided an edge for both the Flying Foxes and the Federated Suns in close range brawls, and eventually the full range of specialist ammunition would be developed for its use In time an LB/X version would also be developed, but the Mechworks' focus on simpler technologies would mean they shied away from Ultra or HV development in their entirety.

Production Information	 
Type	Ballistic (Direct Fire)
Tech Base	Inner Sphere
Year Availability	3020 (FS)
Technical Specifications
Heat	4
Damage	12
Minimum Range	N/A
Short Range	4
Medium Range	8
Long Range	12
Tons	13
Critical Slots	7
Ammo Per Ton	8
Cost (Unloaded)	300.000
Ammo Cost (Per Ton)	10,000
BV (2.0)	142
Ammo BV (2.0) Per Ton	18

 

Weapon	Heat Std (Aero)	Damage Std (Aero)	Range Min/sht/med/lng (Aero)	Ammo (per Ton)	WT (Tons)	M	P	CV	SV	F	SC	DS	Tech Rating	Page Ref
Autocannon/12	4 (4)	12 (12)	0/4/8/12 (Medium)	8	13	7	N/A	1	7	1	1	1	C	TRO:PM [Add once finalised]

The initial brand of AC/12 was Pleiades Mechworks' own Drakehammer, named in spite after a raid by the DCMS on Welwyn, but licensed (and unlicensed) production has since occurred on other planets throughout the 'sphere. In particular, Luthien produced their own similarly barbed name in the Eclipse series for use against the Suns.

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Designer's note:
This is the one I'm least sure about since it's actually a fairly solid upgrade to the /10 in most brawlers who can drop a ton of ammo to include it, and I think it would've made a reasonable impact in the setting if introduced in the 3025 era - especially during the clan invasion as it deals with elementals well.
Hopefully the shorter range and weight increase helps offset that somewhat, and the location of Pleiades Mechworks away from the front lines of the clan invasion should help explain why it wasn't as prevalent there.

The infamous "mech mortar misadventure" may have been the closest the Mechworks ever came to bankruptcy, but it wasn't entirely a waste of c-bills. Combining the utility of smoke missile rounds with the mortar launching system scaled down to minimal range the Mechworks was able to produce a lightweight concealment system. While it's only good for a single shot and lacks the range of both mortars and SRMs, as an emergency panic button it has been popular with mech pilots of all weight classes. Recognising the potential, the Mechworks designed it to be easily configurable with most of the standard power couplings used on small lasers, creating a plug-in replacement for the weapons system that would facilitate conversion work.
The system doesn't fire pure smoke, it's a mixture of phosphorus-based incendiaries and chaff particles to confuse targeting systems and make the concealment more effective than purely visual spectrum smoke.
It has found occupation on light scout units as a way to facilitate escapes, but also on heavier units who appreciate the ability to advance under concealment when attempting to close across an otherwise lethal killzone.

The Assault Smoke Launcher weighs half a ton, and occupies a single critical slot. The decision to use it must be taken in the movement phase, at any point during the mech's movement, and it does not fire like a traditional weapon. When used, it creates a 3-hex wide area of heavy smoke centred on the hex directly in front of the mech that fired it (or behind, if rear mounted). The smoke dissipates automatically at the start of the next movement phase, and is subject to wind drift as normal smoke. Each smoke launcher carries one shot, and must be reloaded like an ammunition bin. If an un-fired smoke launcher is hit by a critical hit, it detonates as a 5-point ammunition explosion, but a spent launcher that gets hit will only require repairing before it can be used again.

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Designer's notes:
I keep going back and forth between producing heavy smoke, or light smoke with 2 launchers being able to combine to produce a heavy cloud. Maybe for half a ton it should be light smoke, but also have a 1-ton version that makes heavy smoke?
I deliberately made it only have a 1-hex range so that while it does replicate the effect of a one-shot SRM-6 loaded with smoke rounds for a fraction of the weight, it doesn't directly invalidate that system due to having much lower range which limits its versatility, as well as the much reduced duration which serves as a balancing factor on light mechs who can't mount enough to be essentially invulnerable while they escape.